Dynaudio Contour 60 + Balanced Audio Technology (BAT)

@ammothguy54 - its been a while, and I went on a whole quest - trying everything with my Contour 60's.   It irony: I found a very nice VK-500 and I am happy now.

Thanks for the advice on SOLID STATE for the Dynaudio Contour 60's - highly biassed Class A sounds so much better than Class D or Tubes, and I didn't listen to any slouches!  

Maybe this can help others:

1. Ayre Ex8 2.0 - 100@8 170@4 ohms - sweet sounding, but bass was boomy (40-50 hz) and non existent in the 30’s - great DAC, great unit, not enough power

2. Ayre AX-5 150@8, 300@4 - a lot better than the EX8 2.0 (but with no DAC), and VERY smooth and VERY well integrated, but not delivering what I was looking for

3. Atoll IN300 - 150@8 ohms -very very good, but not as good as the Moon 340iX

4. PrimaLuna Evo 400 tube - 70 watts into 8 ohms quite amazing - very smooth, but simply could not rock with the Contour 60’s

5. PrimaLuna Evo 300 Hybrid - 100/8, 150/4 ohms even better than the Evo 400. THIS IS AN AMAZING HYBRID AMP! The tubes + the Floyd solid state amp is really, really special - but lacking power

6. Simaudio Moon 340IX - 100@8, 200@4 - wow, what a piece. This also is a very special (and reasonably priced piece)

7. Accuphase E-380 - sounded GREAT with the Contour Legacies!

8. GoldNote IS-1000 - 125@8 ohms - very smooth

9. Hegel H390 - 250@8 - not powerful enough

10. Hegel H590 - 600@4 - WOW - I almost sold my BAT tube pre amp, PS Audio m700 and Denefrips for this -- What an integrated amp, with a DAC! Probably the closest one box design I have heard. It has amazing detail, dynamics, and as the reviews say insanely black background. But I realized it compressed the soundstage a bit AND the black background was consuming some very important detail (made a lot of the bass LOUD and slightly monotone)

11. Simaudio 320X - an amazing unit, bested the Prima 400, GoldNote IS-1000, Atol IN300

12. Simaudio Moon 700i V2 - 175/8, 350/4 super super smooth, very close to separates, but still could not totally control the Contour 60’s

13. Krell K-300i - 150@8, 300@4 very muscular, but again could not control low bass

14. Octave HP 300 SE + Octave MRE220 (non-SE) - amazing combo, great midrange, but boomy “tubby” bass and too much gain from the preamp even on low setting. EX3 stereo tube amp - WOW… just wow — except it lacked bass. I wish I had the sub6 when I auditioned this….

14. The brand new PENDULUM - Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems, LLC a very good integrated with a great DAC and phono section.  Lacking power and current for the large C60’s

15. https://boulderamp.com/products/866-integrated/ - just about perfect, except maybe not having enough gain for metal and movies
 

16. BAT REX 3 tube amp -- I heard the most AMAZING music from this tube amp!   WOW!  But it lacked bass :-(

17.  WINNER!!!!! A "vintage" BAT VK-500 solid state amp - a “vintage” piece, with 250@8 and 500@4 ohms. This won, for the first time ever I had real depth in my stereo image, instruments seemed to layer and make sense, while keeping all of the width I had with the BAT VK-80 & PS Audio m700. And strangely the music is smoother, yet has more detail, has the same dynamics, but seems to bit in the soundstage not jump out an be separate. If I had the $ (even when the market was high), I would have loved to be able to afford the REX500, but this older VK-500 does the trick!

@davidkellyphoto 

Hello.  I have since made many changes to my system.  I will say that the combination of the BAT VK-255SE power amp (solid state) was a perfect match for the Dynaudio Contour 60i speakers.  And with my BAT VK-33SE preamp the combination was just right.  When I changed from solid state to tube amp with the BAT VK-90T it was not what I had anticipated.  It wasn't bad, by any stretch, but it wasn't some great improvement, either.  I should have kept the solid state amp if I were going to keep the Dynaudio speakers.  Thus, I changed my entire direction of the system.  I sold the Dynaudio speakers and bought Daedalus Audio, Apollo 11 speakers.  They are 96db efficiency and a much better match with the VK-90T amplifier.  I also sold my VK-33SE preamp and moved up to the VK-90 preamp.  I also sold my Rega P-10 and bought a Feickert Analogue, Blackbird turntable with a Kuzma 4-Point 11" tonearm.  I went upward in Audioquest signal cables to the new Thunderbird and also to the William Tell Zero speaker cables.  Next up is developing a digital front end, later this year.

Nevertheless, the Dynaudio speakers are really great and if I were to stay with solid state power I would gladly continue with those speakers.  As long as you wish to remain with your Dynaudio speakers I highly recommend going with solid state power.  I see that you have added a BAT VK-80 preamp.  The new design, which includes the latest generation of capacitors, is excellent.  Going from my very good VK-33SE preamp to the VK-90 was no small difference.  The way music is spatially separated between instruments, the air around each instrument and vocals is just astonishing.  If you can wait a bit longer, and can muster up the funds, BAT will soon be releasing a direct replacement, "next generation" of the VK-255SE.  It will be quite a nice solid state amp, maintaining the BAT house sound.  The design will be based on the platform of the new REX 500 power amp, but certainly much less in size, power, and price.  I anticipate it to come in at around $12K, and maybe a little less.  Probably shipping by Summer.  

I hope this help you in your quest.  The Dyn's are really great and will faithfully deliver what you put into them.  They need the power, so be sure to get great quality power.  The new and forthcoming BAT amp I mentioned above would be a perfect combination with your VK-80 preamp in getting those speakers to sound their very best.  Enjoy the journey!